Why It Is Difficult To Have The Lord's Supper In Church Services

Why It Is Difficult To Have The Lord's Supper In Church Services

From Jesus' time to the early church, the Lord's Supper was not just bread and wine (or elements of that). It was a communal meal (aka a full meal).

Now 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples... - Matthew 26:26 (See also Mark 14:22).

Note: For those who say that we must literally follow the Bible without understanding the principles of truth, you should only use wine instead of grape juice. For some of us, we prefer Ribena.

Believers gathered, not just for sustenance, but also for fellowship (koinonia), which means the '𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧' in this eternal life in Christ. Read 1 Cor 11:17-34. It's not for the purpose of socializing with friends. That's not fellowship.

In the early church, the communal meal was also known as the Agape feast (Jude 12). Holy Communion was done in the context of Agape feast (1 Cor 11:17-34). At the feast, each individual brings his food to the table (like a modern potluck). It's shared participation. The rich will bring more while the poor may bring less, but everyone gets a share equally.

The Agape feast and the Eucharist (Holy Communion) were always held together until around 3rd century when it became separated.

Today, this is seldom practised as it is difficult to have the Lord's Supper during church services. People may have communion with Christ, but 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

Though the early disciples met regularly in the temple courts, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 (Acts 2:46). Because Agape feast & Eucharist can be better done in a home setting, so that believers can have 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

While the Lord's Supper signifies the past (what Christ did), the present (His actual presence) and the future (His return), it also encompasses koinonia because communion with Him must lead to communion with one another, since His Body was broken so that we become the Body of Christ to serve one another.

By participating in Holy Communion on the church pews, it has diluted and missed the original purpose of the Lord's Supper. Perhaps it's time to return to its significance. #homechurching

P.S: The abuse in the Corinthian church did not stop the Agape Feast & Eucharist from taking place, but was simply rebuked and corrected by Paul. Today, we avoid this by instituting man-made ordinances that are simply traditions. There is no issue with having tradition as long as it does not prevent us from following the Word. Sadly, the tradition for Holy Communion prevents some from biblical participation.

P.P.S: In Agape feast, we will also discover who is generous and sacrificial, and who is self-centred, NOT by the amount of food we bring (for some are richer), but 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐭.